Mysterious Agenda Of Another Existence
by VermillionBlood
Summary: River Tam wasn't the only star subject at the Academy and what will the government do about the Miranda incident and the Serenity crew responsible for it being discovered? Jayne and cannon shipping!


**Mk. This is my first Firefly/Serenity fic so please be nice to me. Enjoy my feeble attempts!**

There was a big change in the verse' ever since the transmission about the Pax virus was sent out. The government was being more than lightly questioned about its methods of peace, people began to look at their lives differently (whether it being in a positive or negative fashion, that was up to the individual), and the crew of Serenity were become more deferential and settled down. They went their own ways majority of the time with only brief interaction at meal time or during jobs. Mild conversation was given at these periods and with little eye contact.

Most of this was due to the lives that had been lost only a few months before. Zoe seemed emotionless and almost hollow at times. Her hard face refusing to reveal anything about the inner turmoil within her. She had decided early in her despair that she would not burden anyone other than herself with her emotional agony. She hurt deep down. Owe, did she hurt. Every night she lay in that big bed she had once shared with her blonde lover that was now pure torment to her. Her hands constantly reached out for the man named Wash she had loved only to find a cold empty place that would no longer be filled by anything except misery. Normally, a death would not affect her so, but she had let him get close. He had warmed her heart after so much violence and bloodshed had frozen and sealed it away in a steel prison. Slowly, but delicately, he had used his loving hands to reopen her kinder side, letting her feel happiness and allowed her to laugh again. She had laughed before, but not like she had with her husband. It had been short, temporarily chuckles that had hidden her internal conflict from the scars of past actions. Besides, Mal himself had his own problems and issues to sort out and she had not desired to burden him with hers.

Book's death had not been taken any lighter. He had planted his roots deep into Serenity in just the short that he had been aboard her. He was not as cheerful as Wash could be, but there was warmth about him that everyone had basked in. He was the calm, wise balance that was needed in the world that had been created inside the old Firefly ship. He represented peace and tranquility. Mal was the first to find this emptiness when the shepherd had decided to leave Serenity and he was the first to feel it slip out of his reach forever when he held the dying man. His death had been another tear at the war veteran's heart, leaving a deep wound that would most likely never heal. No one could have been so deeply cut as Malcolm Reynolds had been that day.

The only thing that had kept him from being completely submersed in his guilt was the occasional swish of silken cloth and the golden gleam of fine jewelry that passed through his glance day by day. Of all the catastrophes that had occurred around him, Mal had been grateful for the return of the Companion whom seemed to glow with everything he believed he had lost; joy, love, happiness. No one would dare think what would have happened if Inara had decided to return to the guild.

Kaylee and Simon had been able to use their own blossoming love to fend the sadness away. They grew closer each day, holding each other like teenagers new to the theory of love. They had made it a habit to stay as close to each other as possible. When they did part to their own workstations they were never really apart. Simon always thought of Kaylee when he tidied up the infirmary and Kaylee always giggled to herself when she had managed to grease up her clothes again whilst working on the engine, thinking back to when Simon had first confessed any type of feelings about her when they had been drunk on the mudder's planet. Sure, he could say stupid stuff constantly and not realize it, especially in front of others. But when they were by themselves he was sweet and warm. They had been caught more than a few times timidly giving and receiving affection by the other crew members. Jayne had made more than a few sickly comments about their behavior.

"Gorram it," he spat with a squished up face. "Why in all of tha verse do I hafta be the one ter find you two smacking face? I'd rather have Mal bitchin at me than see that kinda display." He instantly about-faced and went the other direction.

Of all the crew on board, Jayne was the only one to have quickly reverted back to his old ways. Sure, he had been saddened at the passing of the good Book and his humorous friend pilot, but he just ignored it with the excuse that there were plenty of good people dying in the verse' and there was nothing he could do about it. There was no reason for him to feel gloomy when everyone around him was doing it plenty enough. Someone had to be normal and sure he wasn't the best candidate for that election. But it was all he could do to help anyone and it was the only thing he knew how to do. He was a wall and that's what he needed to be. At least, that is, for Zoe. She had lost her bubbly surrounding of protection and comfort and he could in the smallest sense give her back a little of her shield. Of course, no one would know that that's how he felt about things. Most likely no one cared.

Luckily, there had not been much…"distraction" for Jayne to have to deal with. River, aka Crazy Moonbrain Psycho, had not been giving him much grief like she had been right after Serenity was repaired and flyable. Ever since Miranda had been revealed she had been more stable and even a little tolerable. Her airy, bendy behavior still continued, but it didn't consist of knives, guns, hurting Jayne, incoherent babble, hurting Jayne, or anything else of the sort. The whole Pax-being-revealed seemed to have lifted a great mental weight off of her. And, Jayne believes, the Doc has been pumping her full of meds again. He never understood how medicine could help mentally. Sure, medicine was helpful with wounds or pain, but mental stuff was, well, mental. Stuff like that is very dangerous to fix and even more dangerous to tamper with. River is a perfect example. She's a crazy walking, talking weapon of mass hurt. Jayne knows this from experience. Experience, he easily discovered, he _really_ didn't want. He had not been learning in the greatest fashion, either.

"Jayne," Mal shouted from above the docking bay. The captain leaned heavily against the railing as he peered down at the husky mercenary below him. "All the cargo needs to be loaded before the sun sets on this moon."

"Yes Capt." Replied Jayne as he moved around a few large crates so that there would be more room. Just what he gorram needed to complete his lovely day; someone telling him what he already knew. Sometimes he wondered if he really made himself out to be that dumb…On second thought, he'd better not think on that too much because he might get an answer that he may not like. He gave a light grumble as he heard Mal leave the docking bay.

"Doesn't think your intellect aptitude is restricted," said a wispy voice from above him. A small part of a pink flowery skirt could barely be seen hanging over the side of the walkway not too far from where Mal had just been leaning over. Jayne gave another growl and made sure it could easily be heard.

"Stop readin' my mind you toothpick loon," said Jayne with aggravation. He continued to his business without even a glance in River's direction, hoping she would just float away and leave him with nothing more than a quiet glance. The last thing he needed to complete his utterly boring day was an illogical conversation with a mental institute rejection.

"Couldn't escape," spoke River quietly with just enough force to allow Jayne to hear her. "Was not rejected from a place she could not escape. They swindled the minds. Made them think of safety and refuge; rested blue hangings over their eyes so that the blood could not be discovered. They never saw the pain on the other side, never could draw them away so that they could be rescued." A slight whimper came from her direction and Jayne knew she had begun to cry, even if it was only slightly.

"Bizui!" snapped Jayne as he turned around to look up at the spot where she was lying. "Cut that crap out yah ben tian sheng shung de yi dui rou. I got enough to deal with as it is. I don't need to listen to a crying little mad girl, dogma?"

River did not immediately reply. Her head rested on cold metal as she stared through small crevices at the large man beneath her. He was annoyed again. It was almost effortless for the young woman to get underneath his thick leathery hide. At first it had been entertaining to see his reactions and investigate which one she would receive from him at what certain time and location. But the task had become tedious and strenuous and she had experimented less and less on the barbarian-like individual and found herself investigating other substances in pursuit for entertainment. But, to her dismay, ever since the Miranda insanity had been released from the inner chambers of her tampered mind things had become greatly unexciting around her. So, in the greatest sense of irony, River found herself lying in the middle of the small catwalk trying to squeeze what little interaction she could out of the dim man.

"You make up for your inability to show maudlin emotion," answered River with a hint of humor in her voice right beside the all-knowing attitude. "But you feel them, deep down inside. Can't let anyone see them, though. You play them off differently so that no one knows what you're real motives are. And you don't like hearing girls cry, even if it is from the crazy moonbrain you detest. Use insults and harshness to distract her from memories of pain. Stopped the tears when others only make more. But don't worry. River will keep these findings to herself, but they will be logged for further study."

"Whatever moonbrain," Jayne turned back to what he was supposed to be doing. He hated it when she read him like that. She even said stuff that he himself was not aware that he was doing. But she was right about all of it. He did not like to let people know he had a caring side or that the teary face of a female, especially little girls, tore at him a bit. But he was just going to ignore her and was starting to do a pretty gorram good job at accomplishing that, but a thought entered his mind and he paused. "Uh, aren't yah supposed to be piloting right now?"

River gasped meekly. She jumped to her feet with grace and speedily floated towards the front of Serenity. Her hair wisped like black fire behind her and Jayne sighed heavily.

"Float," he said to himself. "I'll pay to see that girl trip on her feet if she ever does." He began moving the cargo into place. "But that means the verse' will probably collapse on itself or somethin'…Well if _that_ happens then I'm pretty sure I won't hafta pay…"

**That is all for now! Please review and there'll be another chapter up soon!**


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